← see the minutes from our previous Council meeting

Thanks to everyone who attended the 8th Dunes Council meeting!

Attendance

• Dunes Council
  • AnvilFrost, General Council (delayed by IRL)
  • CadrienK, Vice Chair
  • MJFurman_16, Master of Diplomacy
  • nmjk, Council Chair
  • vK_InFaMy, General Council
  • Zarishendu, General Council
  • Absent:
    • luiqid_salad, Master of Events (IRL)
    • pizzaman321, General Council (IRL)
• Guests
  • AmbitiousHobo, Ambassador to the Lords, Barrens Council
  • FunkehMelon, Entertainment Advisor, Barrens Council
  • Puma_Eric, Project Overseer, Barrens Council
  • Skip2010, Tourism Advisor, Barrens Council

Agenda

1. Why the Emergency meeting, and results
2. Additional laws proposed
3. Law Enforcement status update
4. Open discussion about new plot-jailing feathers, and when/how/why to use them
5. Entrepreneur of the Week
6. Open Questions

1. Why the Emergency meeting, and results

"As many of you know, we held an emergency Council meeting on Tuesday). It was decided among the Council who were around that day that our laws situation needed to be accelerated, due to the upheaval that was taking place at the time."

Questions about the meeting, its justification, and the general situation were taken. No one voiced any concerns about how the meeting was handled or about whether it was necessary at the time. One question was asked about law enforcement, which continues to be an ongoing issue in the Dunes.

2. Additional laws proposed

Two laws that Council had been working on were not passed at the emergency Council meeting:

• Harrassment of residents or visitors of the Dunes, defined as not stopping intrusive or irritating behaviour when asked, is prohibited.
• Dunes recognizes the Lords' Law that magic usage is illegal, thus performing magic in the Dunes is prohibited. The possession of items that allow, cause, or require a peasant to perform magic is prohibited. The study of magic, having a magical nature, and the possession or use of enchanted items that do not do magic themselves are permitted.

The law prohibiting harrassment has passed. The law recognizing the illegal nature of magic has not passed. Magic is still illegal. However, Dunes cannot enforce a law without the permission of its people.

3. Law Enforcement status update

The proposal for stand-alone Dunes law enforcement has not moved forward. In the meantime, K54, head of the Desert Task Force, has begun recruiting for a Dunes Branch of the DTF. Based on the lack of movement on the one and the forward movement on the other, it was proposed that we stay with the current state of affairs: the Desert Task Force holding the contract for law enforcement in the Dunes.

MJFurman_16 raised the idea that one of the Dunes recruits, if appropriate, be given a senior position within the Dunes Branch. He will raise the question of reporting structure with K54.

Information about the DTF's law enforcement is available here. Note that only Dunian laws will be enforced in the Dunes, but comparable penalties will be applied.

4. Open discussion about new plot-jailing feathers, and when/how/why to use them

A short, open discussion was held regarding the ability of plot owners to jail people on and off the edge of their plots. Appropriate usage suggestions included: being a nuisance, disrupting the peace, attempted robbery, and similar.

"There is currently no law enforcing the usage of the feathers. Usage is currently at the owners' discretion. However, we hope and expect our residents to be reasonable and mature."

"One of the best things about this district is its friendliness. We love that we hang out together and visit each other's plots. We believe that that is the major reason why people enjoy visiting and living here. This Dunes community is the sum of its residents; all of us have the power to influence the culture here. We hope that, together, we can influence it for the best."

5. Entrepreneur of the Week

vK_InFaMy has been managing the Dunes Business Catalogue for quite a while, and recently launched the Entrepreneur of the Week program. This week's winner is Ballzy247, owner of the Barrons Bistro in North Orange 4, at x:438, z:478. He also wins a 7 gold bar award!

Open Questions

Q: Is MJFurman_16 running a Secret Santa?
A: No, he's running a "general Santa". It would be way too complicated to run a Secret Santa. Any donations you want to make to the project, drop them off under MJFurman's Nismas Palm Tree, and he'll distribute everything on Dec 14!

Q: What is "Santa"?
A: Santa is a fictional character from MJFurman's homeland in the Northern kingdoms. He couldn't believe no one in Dong Dank had heard of Santa, so MJFurman decided to bring the tradition to life here.

Q: When is the Dunes vs. Barrens snowball fight?
A: Dec 14! Make sure to keep collecting your snowballs. :D

Summary thoughts

It was disappointing and frustrating to see how much disruption there was during the meeting, all from outside (non-desert-residing) peasants. We offer our profound thanks to all the Dunes and Barrens residents who are, especially by comparison, wonderful people.

Questions? Corrections?

Please let me know! And watch for the meeting/agenda post for next week's meeting, coming soon.